Is Canada More Important to MMA Than the United States?

Earlier this year, the UFC announced its plans to host three major events in Canada by year’s end.

As we approach the first—UFC 149 in Calgary—you have got to start thinking: Canada may just be more important than the United States to the evolution of MMA.

At the same press conference, UFC president Dana White expressed his confidence in Canada as the place where MMA has found its footing with national support.

Citing great attendance and $40 million in gate earnings in the eight events since Canada’s first, UFC 83, White explained that Canada’s support of MMA attests to this foundation.

“This place has been the Mecca of mixed martial arts ever since we set foot in this country.”

White’s assessment is hard to argue against, given the numbers surrounding this success.

The largest UFC attendance at a single event was at UFC 129 in Toronto, where seating was rearranged to meet the huge demand of more than 55,000 fans. The second and third largest crowds were at UFC 124 and UFC 97 respectively, both held in Montreal.

If nothing else, these numbers bolster bold statements like those from White. Perhaps Tom Wright, director of Canadian operations for the UFC, does speak for Canada when he expressed similar sentiments: “Canadians have embraced...the UFC like nowhere else.”

With Canadian fighters like Georges St-Pierre, his protégé Rory MacDonald, Mark Bocek and others, it is not hard for Canadians to throw their weight behind the hometown athletes. The difference is that when their fighters on are the card, they show up in droves.

To what is this kind of support attributed?

Perhaps it is that Canada’s No. 1 sport, hockey, is one of the few that actually allows physical contact anymore, or that Canadians have some solid fighters to back?

Whatever the case, the fact remains: Canada has been becoming the more important country to MMA and the UFC.

The events the country has received in 2012 remind us of this history and further speak to the future. UFC 149, featuring a featherweight title bout between Jose Aldo and Erik Koch, is scheduled to take place in July at Calgary.

This is the first time the city has seen a UFC event, and tickets sold out minutes after opening to the general public.

The other two events, UFC 152 and 154, promise to be equally if not more telling of Canadians’ love of the sport, especially if GSP returns to the ring at 154.

And all of this is rolling on smoothly despite the fact that MMA does not appear to be completely legal in Canada.

It might be impossible to explain exactly why MMA is so popular in Canada, even among Canadians; I’m sure that they, like all fans, have extremely different reasons for enjoying the sport.

But looking back at White’s admiration for the country, the historic attendance at Canadian UFC events and the encouraging future of MMA in Canada, it is hard to argue that the country is not one of, if not the, largest collective supporter of the sport and its head organization.

What does all of this say for the U.S.?

Exactly what you would think. The UFC has to fight a greater sports culture in the US, as there are a number of well-established sports organizations. Moreover, the legislative fight to make MMA legal in Canada is very different from that in America.

Where Canadians cite health, namely concussions, as the main concern, Americans (like New York Assemblyman Bob Reilly) seem to have a moral inclination toward banning MMA.

Admittedly, critics in both countries speak to protecting their country’s children and society, but the argument surrounding this protection are the most telling.

The Canadian push-back against legislation seems to protect children from concussions, while the American criticism tries to protect children from being exposed to things they generally should not be.

One thing is certain, however. Where the U.S. is making small steps toward popular acceptance of MMA, Canada is taking strides.

At a time when the UFC is working to expand its global viewership, it is hard to imagine that the path of least resistance is unappealing.

For the time being, Canada is likely the better patron of MMA and the UFC now and in the foreseeable future.